Oh man, the cow sound discussion was REALLY interesting. Those old cows are really sharp and can pin point you to the bush and they know when you screw up on a cow call. The grandma cows are my nemisis.
Great pod-cast. Love it! Thanks Cliff. I'm a CO native. Another important factor that a lot of hunters forget is hydration. Nothing works right without the proper hydration. As a CO native, I see dudes every year fail because they are dehydrated and they don't even realize it. You MUST hydrate several days before you get to the west! You body needs sleep and water!!!! Love it guys, thank you.
Great job, there was SO much truth in this podcast. It was especially uplifting to learn that everybody goes through the grinder before getting proficient - thanks guys!
Going on my first elk hunt this September and this content is exactly what I’m looking for. Total noon here but feels like I’ve found gold. Be fit, be tough, be happy. Thank you gentlemen!
I’ve been elk hunting for 15 years, I just love and live for pods like this. I’ve picked up several tips with this. I drawn an elk and mule deer tag for wilderness area in Colorado. I always do it solo. I’m 68 and still doing it. Life is great🏹🏹🌲🏔️⛺️
Great info, as always. I archery hunt CO in high-pressure units every year, and I've found that elk do indeed bugle, but you might only get one bugle back from them. I find that they'll sneak up on you without making a sound sometimes. So if I've located one nearby and he stops talking, I'll set up and throw out some calls and wait for about 15 minutes before I start moving again. On more than a few occasions, I just kept walking cause I didn't hear anything and then bumped them cause they were moving in on me quietly. And you're absolutely right about getting sleep when you can. Hunting is really the art of napping.
One of the best podcasts ever. Lessons on elk success can apply to any success in life. Very interesting that top 3 things to archery elk success had absolutely nothing to do with archery or woodsmanship skills. Top 3 items applicable to every type of success, from marriage to career to elk hunting.
I live at 6500 ft and go a bit higher when bushcrafting and this is all seriously underrated advice, get your lungs working hard thrice a week if not everyday, train to have the necessary endurance and also train to be able to carry the necessary loads.
That was one of the best podcasts around elk hunting that I’ve listened to in a long time. I’m headed back out opening day this year and Colorado from my second solo hunt. Half my time will be down south of Aspen and the other half if needed in the flat tops.
Awesome, I'm ready for my life to be changed. I need to get good on rifle hunts before I attempt archery. Your black belt level talks keeps me optimistic on the possibilities.... thanks
East coast hunter here, preparing for my second elk hunt in September. My brothers and I did a DIY public land bow hunt in CO, two seasons ago where we somehow managed to stumble across a decent herd of elk with a bull screaming. (We really know nothing) Got to within 100 yards before a cow busted us. I wish I had this information then... Great video!
Great interview. I agree that about the bugling. When you find them you hear them. I had a bull bugle at 1030pm 300 yards away from my camp one night as the full moon came over the ridge. Didnt sleep a lick. Called him in at 9am the next morning- much later than I expected. He was so sneaky and used the shadows. Got him in close but not close enough!
Completely agree on the broad head issue, fixed blades are better. I have had mechanical heads fail on whitetails. Will mechanicals kill, absolutely. But fixed blades never fail when screwed into the arrow shaft properly, it takes gear failure off the table. You get a little more wiggle room on shot placement as well
My fastest/ quickest kills on elk have been with mechanical broadheads, both rage extreme 2.3"... and also my worst experience, one i backed out and left overnight was a hybrid mechanical head... meat was 100% good the next morning. Got very luck there. 1 that i lost the meat on by leaving overnight when i lost knife and went back to camp for knife then had 1 section i didn't mark well, before handheld gps, and I couldn't locate before dark.. it was cold even, snowed a little bit that night.... i have both heads in my quiver now but usually grab fixed head for elk
Cliff get to the rifle interview as soon as possible! I’m a southern guy who’s got a late start in the western hunting game & need all the help I can get. Hoping to learn as much as I can before heading out in a couple of years on my first elk hunt. My wife& I are doing this diy
Wish I could sit around a camp fire with these guys! Awesome podcast. Great listen for guys looking to get into the industry or new guides. Get out there and get the experience
Great discussion. Makes me realize how little I know. Your experience level is so far above me that is very humbling. The concern is always going too fast in close and blowing out a cow or calf that gives me away by wind swirling or getting spotted. Also, some of us can't physically pack out an elk when miles and miles back in the mountains, without it going bad on us. If you can't get it out in a timely manner, its disallusing to kill an animal so far back you can't get it out without spoilage. Great discussion.
@cliff gray - were you glad to see the Flat Tops go back to draw only for public land? My Dad and uncle hunted there on horseback since the late 80s when it always took 1 or 2 points to draw, but the over the counter tags and reduction of the white river herd by 1/3 made the hunting very different. What I don't know is how many hunters used to use over the counter tags and how that compares to the tags they issue now for public land in the Flat Tops.
Ive listened to a whole lot of elk hunting podcasts and info and now I wish I hadn't.. I wish that this was the only podcast that ive heard on the subject. Seriously. The simple explanations in this discussion allow for variability and adaptability in the woods whereas other discussions on this topic get way in the weeds and leaves you more confused with anthropomorphized elk behavior. I have to remind myself in all sorts of hunting scenarios to keep it simple stupid, don't overthink it.
im going this sept- to try otc for the first time. im a disabled vet and have done many things but elk is at the top of the list. this was a great video
Great content - I've applied a couple things from another hobby (mountaineering/ski touring) that might be helpful. I like to lift, but building an aerobic cardio base year round rather than just in the run up is pretty important. Also altitude acclimation is hard, but sleeping a night before at altitude (sleeping at the trailhead before a climb is a tradition) helps a ton as well as hydration days before the trip. Also ibuprofen (or acetazolamide with a prescription) in advance will help if you're going over 10k elevation.
Remember the good times. 2 percent calf recruitment annually will take five or six years to become visible. Rest assured, the great elk herd numbers of Colorado will be a memory. It’s happened everywhere the wolves have prospered. 😢
Fantastic ! Well appreciated by us hungry archery hunters staying in the game. As a strength coach I gotta ask a physical preparation question: how often do skinny weak party members or experienced backcountry guys end up with knee and back injuries ? Even with minimal pack outs ? If a guy shows up in solid ruck conditioning shape at altitude and also weighs 200 + lbs and also has a real baseline of strength (ie. 400lb + squat) do you think that this big strong guy will be a more physically resilient and a more useful party member in general to have?
I don’t think Evan or I have a great answer for that. I think being physically strong is important, specifically core strength has helped me personally greatly with back pain and injuries while backpacking hunting. Reality is what you describe is really rare in our world as guides… and probably in general across the spectrum of hunters. Folks have limited time on the physical fitness front… big, strong, cardio and in hiking shape is probably the ideal. But if you can only focus on one, cardio is superior.
That’s honest. After asking old timers out of Oregon in particular about why they don’t backcountry hunt anymore it’s almost always “my back and/or knees are shot”. And because it takes months to years to build useful general strength rather than weeks to gain useful cardio it’s more of an investment that folks just haven’t learned about or stuck with. I’m trying to help some of those seasoned hunters get back in the mountains with a pack on through effective strength training. I’m at Impact Jui jitsu as a strength coach and have heard you drop in from time to time 😅. Take care Cliff
Got my first elk tag and ive been learning a lot from your videos. Do you have any recommendations on what to use to call in a cow (got a cow tag) or can you direct me to a video that you cover the topic? Everything im seeing throughout youtube is geared to bulls
Thanks again for the content! Always seems to have something for every level of hunter. Question for you about using a bugle for locating elk. What Evan said about glassing to find elk instead of wearing out your legs and lungs hiking and bugleing makes sense, but what about areas where there is no vantage for glassing? We'll be hunting thick timber this September and from my experience in the area the elk are on slopes with no place to glass into. Last year we literally put 50 backpacking miles on the boots, and didn't kill elk. We did, however, call in bulls and have many close calls. Would you guys suggest changing locations to somewhere we can glass from? Or keep on trucking since we got so close last year. Thanks again for your time and the great content!
I’d keep doing what you are doing. The CO country we are focused on here is generally glassable. Even where it’s timber thick you can get up high and glass for miles, catching something on timber edges… usually grass isn’t good enough in the timber and you will catch them out. In timbered/flat areas, extend the idea of moving fast during prime hours to locate elk. Where legal, even consider locate calling at night, off roads.
I have hunted my whole life. Grew up in Leadville archery hunting. I am a bit of a gear nerd now days, but it's definitely not necessary to go all out on gear.
Great podcast guys... i hunted just north of where you guide. Had some great hunts and amazing memories in that area, and several bull kills... a outfitter moved in, not you, and it went down hill fast so we went elsewhere but we kept going back because we like the area so much... that outfitter has been kicked out and lost license due to unethical practices. I hope to come back some year again... Im curious about what your opinion is on the state wanting to or going to put in the large state park, camp area, by the lake by your lodge... going to effect you much? Effeect wildlife?
Perhaps Evan will chime in here on the lake. That whole deal was mostly whispers and speculation when I was around so I’m not up to speed. In general, anything Polis is involved in is bad for wildlife and a total scam.
So it was mentioned that if you did not know where elk were you would glass until you found them. I’m going to a new unit in wyoming this year that i spent 15 points on and it looks pretty thick with few glassing areas. Unfortunately my trip is gonna be cut much shorter than i thought. Other than just walking, do you have any other ideas on finding elk?
I've found Best pep for altitude for my brother and i, a carpenter and drywaller, get there early. Go high in the day and scout then sleep at low elevation for a minimum of three days. You'll build more red blood cells doing that, then carry more o2 to muscles. On the flip side, I've almost died from exposure, by running from east to west straight through and hunting the next day depleted.
@@Lexidezi225 don’t get me wrong, by day 2 or 3 depending on how high I am, I’m all over those mountains like wolves on elk. Just goes to show, we are all built different and should know our limitations. I’ve never fell ill because of it, but have displayed minor symptoms a time or 2. Thus my reason for having ibuprofen or allieve on standby for those slight headaches. And that’s probably my fault for not being hydrated quite like I should at times.
Cliff, Do you plan on putting together a video on what the future of hunting looks like for Colorado with OTC archery NR going away? I would love to see your opinion on this. Really enjoyed this video. I would be willing to bet that Evan and I have been listening to the same elk at daylight before. lol
Give it up. Our grandfather maybe had more game, But not even close the gear. No on x GPS. great lightweight clothes. No E bike, UTV cross bow much less bow that shoots 100yds. Give it up. We watch u tube, buy a ton of hi tec shit & go kill elk or pay big $ & get it done.
21:41 Elk Hunting Tactics Discussion starts
Thanks John.
Oh man, the cow sound discussion was REALLY interesting. Those old cows are really sharp and can pin point you to the bush and they know when you screw up on a cow call. The grandma cows are my nemisis.
Fore sure!
Great pod-cast. Love it! Thanks Cliff. I'm a CO native. Another important factor that a lot of hunters forget is hydration. Nothing works right without the proper hydration. As a CO native, I see dudes every year fail because they are dehydrated and they don't even realize it. You MUST hydrate several days before you get to the west! You body needs sleep and water!!!! Love it guys, thank you.
Water is life in the mountains
For sure! Great additional point for folks to focus and prep for. Hydration is key
Two of the best guides, outfitters and guys in the business! I’ve hunted with both and you won’t find better elk professors.
Great job, there was SO much truth in this podcast. It was especially uplifting to learn that everybody goes through the grinder before getting proficient - thanks guys!
thanks!
Maybe the best archery elk content I’ve listened to in 4 years! Thanks guys!
👊🏻👍
Going on my first elk hunt this September and this content is exactly what I’m looking for. Total noon here but feels like I’ve found gold. Be fit, be tough, be happy. Thank you gentlemen!
Fantastic show, men! First timer and you guys are great!
thank you!
Really great guest and discussion! Much appreciated! Learned a lot, being a relatively inexperienced Elk hunter myself.
I’ve been elk hunting for 15 years, I just love and live for pods like this. I’ve picked up several tips with this. I drawn an elk and mule deer tag for wilderness area in Colorado. I always do it solo. I’m 68 and still doing it. Life is great🏹🏹🌲🏔️⛺️
Good luck on those tags man!
Great info, as always. I archery hunt CO in high-pressure units every year, and I've found that elk do indeed bugle, but you might only get one bugle back from them. I find that they'll sneak up on you without making a sound sometimes. So if I've located one nearby and he stops talking, I'll set up and throw out some calls and wait for about 15 minutes before I start moving again. On more than a few occasions, I just kept walking cause I didn't hear anything and then bumped them cause they were moving in on me quietly.
And you're absolutely right about getting sleep when you can. Hunting is really the art of napping.
For sure! Good tip on sneaky bulls coming in silent, too 👍
One of the best podcasts ever. Lessons on elk success can apply to any success in life. Very interesting that top 3 things to archery elk success had absolutely nothing to do with archery or woodsmanship skills. Top 3 items applicable to every type of success, from marriage to career to elk hunting.
Absolutely! Thanks for the comment.
i had the pleasure of being guided by Evan on a moose hunt he is absolutely the real deal
Yes he is 👍
Damn. Another banger. Thanks for sharing Cliff!
I live at 6500 ft and go a bit higher when bushcrafting and this is all seriously underrated advice, get your lungs working hard thrice a week if not everyday, train to have the necessary endurance and also train to be able to carry the necessary loads.
That was one of the best podcasts around elk hunting that I’ve listened to in a long time. I’m headed back out opening day this year and Colorado from my second solo hunt. Half my time will be down south of Aspen and the other half if needed in the flat tops.
This was awesome. Really appreciate you putting out this high quality content. I am getting very excited for September up here in WY.
Wow this was great thanks Cliff, you asked all the right questions.
Glad it was helpful man 👊🏻👍
Awesome, I'm ready for my life to be changed. I need to get good on rifle hunts before I attempt archery. Your black belt level talks keeps me optimistic on the possibilities.... thanks
Just a matter of time man!!!
Very informative i got my first archery bull tag this year thanks a lot
East coast hunter here, preparing for my second elk hunt in September. My brothers and I did a DIY public land bow hunt in CO, two seasons ago where we somehow managed to stumble across a decent herd of elk with a bull screaming. (We really know nothing) Got to within 100 yards before a cow busted us. I wish I had this information then... Great video!
Great interview. I agree that about the bugling. When you find them you hear them. I had a bull bugle at 1030pm 300 yards away from my camp one night as the full moon came over the ridge. Didnt sleep a lick. Called him in at 9am the next morning- much later than I expected. He was so sneaky and used the shadows. Got him in close but not close enough!
Excellent show. So interesting and informative.
Completely agree on the broad head issue, fixed blades are better. I have had mechanical heads fail on whitetails. Will mechanicals kill, absolutely. But fixed blades never fail when screwed into the arrow shaft properly, it takes gear failure off the table. You get a little more wiggle room on shot placement as well
You 2 nailed archery elk hunting!
Great podcast for sure! Great content and knowledge!
Thanks!!!
Best pod so far Cliff.
Thanks man. Appreciate it
Going on my first elk hunt this year. Most likely solo. This is very helpful!
Great informative conversation right here.
Also, as of now, only 8,100 ish views is sad for the content you both gave. But I appreciate it that much more as inside info is hard to come upon
My fastest/ quickest kills on elk have been with mechanical broadheads, both rage extreme 2.3"... and also my worst experience, one i backed out and left overnight was a hybrid mechanical head... meat was 100% good the next morning. Got very luck there. 1 that i lost the meat on by leaving overnight when i lost knife and went back to camp for knife then had 1 section i didn't mark well, before handheld gps, and I couldn't locate before dark.. it was cold even, snowed a little bit that night.... i have both heads in my quiver now but usually grab fixed head for elk
Thank you for these such a great informations.
For sure! Glad it was helpful
Great Stuff Cliff. Gave up the do it yourself this year and heading in with Jimmy. Appreciate your videos bud!
Good luck man! Thanks 👍
Cliff get to the rifle interview as soon as possible! I’m a southern guy who’s got a late start in the western hunting game & need all the help I can get. Hoping to learn as much as I can before heading out in a couple of years on my first elk hunt. My wife& I are doing this diy
Wish I could sit around a camp fire with these guys! Awesome podcast. Great listen for guys looking to get into the industry or new guides. Get out there and get the experience
Great discussion. Makes me realize how little I know. Your experience level is so far above me that is very humbling. The concern is always going too fast in close and blowing out a cow or calf that gives me away by wind swirling or getting spotted. Also, some of us can't physically pack out an elk when miles and miles back in the mountains, without it going bad on us. If you can't get it out in a timely manner, its disallusing to kill an animal so far back you can't get it out without spoilage. Great discussion.
Thanks! I hear ya on meat spoilage… reality is Evan and I have historically depended on horses/mules for a lot of our pack outs.
@cliff gray - were you glad to see the Flat Tops go back to draw only for public land? My Dad and uncle hunted there on horseback since the late 80s when it always took 1 or 2 points to draw, but the over the counter tags and reduction of the white river herd by 1/3 made the hunting very different. What I don't know is how many hunters used to use over the counter tags and how that compares to the tags they issue now for public land in the Flat Tops.
Ive listened to a whole lot of elk hunting podcasts and info and now I wish I hadn't.. I wish that this was the only podcast that ive heard on the subject. Seriously. The simple explanations in this discussion allow for variability and adaptability in the woods whereas other discussions on this topic get way in the weeds and leaves you more confused with anthropomorphized elk behavior. I have to remind myself in all sorts of hunting scenarios to keep it simple stupid, don't overthink it.
Really appreciate the feedback Tony! Glad it was helpful
im going this sept- to try otc for the first time. im a disabled vet and have done many things but elk is at the top of the list. this was a great video
Glad you enjoyed it. Good luck man 👊🏻👍
@@CliffGray thanks
This is one of my favorites. Could listen to him all day. You have to do a follow up about rifle elk!
For sure. We’ll do it
Awesome listen. Yes please do a video with Evan on rifle elk hunting. That would be great.
Way to find the guests others don’t! Good podcast!
Thanks man 👊🏻👍
Great content - I've applied a couple things from another hobby (mountaineering/ski touring) that might be helpful. I like to lift, but building an aerobic cardio base year round rather than just in the run up is pretty important. Also altitude acclimation is hard, but sleeping a night before at altitude (sleeping at the trailhead before a climb is a tradition) helps a ton as well as hydration days before the trip. Also ibuprofen (or acetazolamide with a prescription) in advance will help if you're going over 10k elevation.
Great additional tips, thanks man 👊🏻
Remember the good times. 2 percent calf recruitment annually will take five or six years to become visible. Rest assured, the great elk herd numbers of Colorado will be a memory. It’s happened everywhere the wolves have prospered. 😢
Fantastic ! Well appreciated by us hungry archery hunters staying in the game. As a strength coach I gotta ask a physical preparation question:
how often do skinny weak party members or experienced backcountry guys end up with knee and back injuries ? Even with minimal pack outs ?
If a guy shows up in solid ruck conditioning shape at altitude and also weighs 200 + lbs and also has a real baseline of strength (ie. 400lb + squat) do you think that this big strong guy will be a more physically resilient and a more useful party member in general to have?
I don’t think Evan or I have a great answer for that. I think being physically strong is important, specifically core strength has helped me personally greatly with back pain and injuries while backpacking hunting. Reality is what you describe is really rare in our world as guides… and probably in general across the spectrum of hunters. Folks have limited time on the physical fitness front… big, strong, cardio and in hiking shape is probably the ideal. But if you can only focus on one, cardio is superior.
That’s honest. After asking old timers out of Oregon in particular about why they don’t backcountry hunt anymore it’s almost always “my back and/or knees are shot”. And because it takes months to years to build useful general strength rather than weeks to gain useful cardio it’s more of an investment that folks just haven’t learned about or stuck with.
I’m trying to help some of those seasoned hunters get back in the mountains with a pack on through effective strength training. I’m at Impact Jui jitsu as a strength coach and have heard you drop in from time to time 😅. Take care Cliff
Got my first elk tag and ive been learning a lot from your videos. Do you have any recommendations on what to use to call in a cow (got a cow tag) or can you direct me to a video that you cover the topic? Everything im seeing throughout youtube is geared to bulls
Thanks again for the content! Always seems to have something for every level of hunter. Question for you about using a bugle for locating elk. What Evan said about glassing to find elk instead of wearing out your legs and lungs hiking and bugleing makes sense, but what about areas where there is no vantage for glassing? We'll be hunting thick timber this September and from my experience in the area the elk are on slopes with no place to glass into. Last year we literally put 50 backpacking miles on the boots, and didn't kill elk. We did, however, call in bulls and have many close calls. Would you guys suggest changing locations to somewhere we can glass from? Or keep on trucking since we got so close last year. Thanks again for your time and the great content!
I’d keep doing what you are doing. The CO country we are focused on here is generally glassable. Even where it’s timber thick you can get up high and glass for miles, catching something on timber edges… usually grass isn’t good enough in the timber and you will catch them out.
In timbered/flat areas, extend the idea of moving fast during prime hours to locate elk. Where legal, even consider locate calling at night, off roads.
@CliffGray Awesome. This is what I was leaning towards. I'll check into the legality in the area we're in. Thanks again!
I have hunted my whole life. Grew up in Leadville archery hunting. I am a bit of a gear nerd now days, but it's definitely not necessary to go all out on gear.
Absolutely. Gears a double edge sword at times, but some of the improvements are hard to argue with.
Great podcast guys... i hunted just north of where you guide. Had some great hunts and amazing memories in that area, and several bull kills... a outfitter moved in, not you, and it went down hill fast so we went elsewhere but we kept going back because we like the area so much... that outfitter has been kicked out and lost license due to unethical practices. I hope to come back some year again...
Im curious about what your opinion is on the state wanting to or going to put in the large state park, camp area, by the lake by your lodge... going to effect you much? Effeect wildlife?
Perhaps Evan will chime in here on the lake. That whole deal was mostly whispers and speculation when I was around so I’m not up to speed. In general, anything Polis is involved in is bad for wildlife and a total scam.
@CliffGray I totally agree and that's what I was thinking also
So it was mentioned that if you did not know where elk were you would glass until you found them. I’m going to a new unit in wyoming this year that i spent 15 points on and it looks pretty thick with few glassing areas. Unfortunately my trip is gonna be cut much shorter than i thought. Other than just walking, do you have any other ideas on finding elk?
What do you guys do in areas where there aren’t great glassing points and timber is too thick
dang thats alot of public land bulls. I have over 10 public land colorado elk and i thought i was doing good
You are. That’s a ton for this time of hunting. Basically 50yrs of hunting based on the average harvest stats
I've found Best pep for altitude for my brother and i, a carpenter and drywaller, get there early. Go high in the day and scout then sleep at low elevation for a minimum of three days. You'll build more red blood cells doing that, then carry more o2 to muscles.
On the flip side, I've almost died from exposure, by running from east to west straight through and hunting the next day depleted.
What a great dialogue. Excellent guest. Its a good thing you stopped when you did...I've got shit to do today.
Bwhaha!
Absolutely, if a guy can swing a few days beforehand they always do well
I live at 7500’ in NM and still need a couple days to acclimate at 9k feet and above when I hunt CO
I live at 4600 in Nevada and have zero issues at 10-11k anytime
@@Lexidezi225 don’t get me wrong, by day 2 or 3 depending on how high I am, I’m all over those mountains like wolves on elk. Just goes to show, we are all built different and should know our limitations. I’ve never fell ill because of it, but have displayed minor symptoms a time or 2. Thus my reason for having ibuprofen or allieve on standby for those slight headaches. And that’s probably my fault for not being hydrated quite like I should at times.
Cliff,
Do you plan on putting together a video on what the future of hunting looks like for Colorado with OTC archery NR going away? I would love to see your opinion on this.
Really enjoyed this video. I would be willing to bet that Evan and I have been listening to the same elk at daylight before. lol
Well shoot, I thought this was going to be about hunting for the over 50 year olds
I actually thought this title might be confusing that way!
You guys don’t know what you’re taking about! A dozen trips out west to hunt the last 20 years, killed all my elk at mid day. All one of them!
How many is all one of them exactly?? One elk?
@@kenraterink yeah one total! Sorry you didn't catch the joke
@@pco315 it was a good one.. 🙄
Bwhaha it happens for sure 😜👍 congrats on the elk… it’s freakin hard regardless
Now that was funny! Well played.
CLIFF, unless you giys do something about them wilves KISS YOUR BUSINESS GOODBYE.
Give it up. Our grandfather maybe had more game, But not even close the gear. No on x GPS. great lightweight clothes. No E bike, UTV cross bow much less bow that shoots 100yds. Give it up. We watch u tube, buy a ton of hi tec shit & go kill elk or pay big $ & get it done.